I'm new to following minor league players and their ascendancy through the ranks, but one guy who's caught my eye is Clint Robinson.  As far as I can tell, this guy is not considered a legit prospect.  I realize he's got no defensive position and he's old for his level, but I can't help but wonder what more he could do to get himself on the radar.  He won the Triple Crown in the Texas League and currently has a 1.300 OPS in AAA.

If he keeps this up would he start to get some recognition on prospect lists or what?  Are there lots of examples of guys like this in the past who never amounted to anything in the majors (or who didn't even get a shot)?  This fascinates me, so please explain!

I'm trying to figure out my ideal lineup.  This league uses players stats from LAST YEAR, so you can just look at their 2010 stats to get a good idea of how they'll perform in my sim season. Here's my guys:

Albert Pujols

Carl Crawford

Rickie Weeks

Geovany Soto

Michael Bourn

Nick Swisher

Rafael Furcal

Alex Rodriguez

Pitcher

To start, I used this line up generator, which helped, but it doesn't take into account base stealing ability, which will be a big part of my team with Bourn and Crawford.

I think I will definitely bat Pujols second to increase his plate appearances throughout the season.

I will definitely bat the pitcher 8th and use Bourn 9th to act as a second lead off man.

Who do you think should lead off?  Soto has the best OBP, but is clearly not a base stealing threat.  It's a somewhat steep drop to Crawford in OBP, but would his base running skills make up for the difference?  Weeks is another possibility.

Swisher seems like a good candidate for the clean up spot with his good OBP and power.

What do you guys think? Thanks!

Hey all, these are some guys who John has ranked as C+ and have played some time in the majors.  Let me know how you would rank these guys in overall potential and likelihood of contributing in the majors next season.  Obviously none of these guys are sure things, but I don't really know anything about these guys and I figure some of you guys might.  Thanks!

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Hey all, it's that time in my sim league where I can trim down my minor league roster before the amateur draft.  When all is said in done, I can have 25 guys on my team, including the guys I drafted.  The more guys I cut here, the more picks I have.  It's a 24 team league though, so the most worthwhile guys go very quickly.

I only have 17 guys so I don't need to cut anyone, but if there's any guys on my team that really aren't worth having at all, they should go.  Also, don't make too much fun of my system, it's a wreck now, but only because I've traded lots of my prospects recently in hopes of winning it all this year.   Here's my guys:

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Why has he fallen so far as a prospect?  I understand that his injury set him back, but he still put up decent stats in AAA and has been getting praise from Mattingly.  Looks like he's got a decent shot to make the major league roster in spring training.  Do people think he's peaked?  Even if he only winds up as a utility infielder, you'd got to think he'd be one of the top 20 prospects on the Dodgers at this point.

These are all B prospects according to Sickels.  Rank them as best you can, please.  Let me know if any of them are likely to contribute in the majors next year as well.  If you don't want to rank them all, you can just say which ones you feel are the best, but I'd appreciate a full ranking if possible.

Wilin Rosario, C
Carlos Perez, C
Hak-Ju Lee, SS
Nick Franklin, SS
Matt Davidson, 3B
Jerry Sands, OF
Arodyz Vizcaino, P
Chris Carpenter, P
Juan Nicasio, P
Rex Brothers, P
Drake Britton, P
Tyler Chatwood, P
Garrett Richards, P
Fabio Martinez Mesa, P
Manny Banuelos, P
Rudy Owens, P
Alex Torres, P


Thanks!

Here

Los Angeles Angels: Top 10 Prospects

1. Mike Trout / OF / Trout had a tremendous season, leaving no doubt about who LA's top prospect is. His speed and defense are fully expected to be assets, but his mature approach and eye at the plate come as a surprise at this stage of his development.
2. Hank Conger / C / Conger still has not taken the big step forward that his skill set foreshadows. His defense isn't where it needs to be, but he does a good job all-around with a bat, with more power development possible.
3. Garrett Richards / SP / Richards has good stuff across the board, including a mid-90s fastball and three secondary offerings. His command is holding him back and keeping any one of his secondary pitches from becoming his out pitch. But there is a lot to like in this young man, and he is underrated in many circles.
4. Jean Segura / 2B/SS / Segura posted a breakout year at the plate and in the field. Defensively, he plays second base now but has the arm to play the left side of the infield. Offensively, he shows all the tools necessary to be a dynamic middle infielder. He does need to prove his worth at higher levels before the mainstream buys in.
5. Kaleb Cowart / 3B / Cowart is a two-way high schooler who will require patience, especially as he adjusts to an infield position full time. He has plus power potential from either side of the plate and many of the other raw tools necessary to one day become a star.
6. Fabio Martinez / SP / Martinez is a perfect example of a young man with a great three-pitch mix, plus velocity, good movement, and plenty of endurance. But he also is someone who needs to find consistent command on everything he throws before he's ready to challenge hitters at higher levels.
7. Tyler Chatwood / SP/RP / Chatwood has a slight frame, but you wouldn't know judging by his mid-90s fastball. He also has a good looking change-up and curveball, but, guess what, we have another young Angel arm with control issues. The young power arms in their system are very impressive, but they all need to figure out the strike zone.
8. Alexi Amarista / 2B / Amarista is a compact second baseman with a slick glove and great plate approach, which has been demonstrated at higher levels. He has some speed to work with and gap power, but there isn't much home run power, which will ultimately hinder his status. There is a lot to like. A solid big league second baseman is in the works.
9. Mark Trumbo / 1B/OF / Trumbo has one thing that he does well, and that's hit for power. The home run numbers are attractive and bringing people back for more. His simple, powerful swing looks like it will translate to the majors, but scouts aren't so sure about his contact skills, plate discipline, or defense.
10. Cam Bedrosian / SP / Los Angeles has a good, deep system, despite the lack of top-50 prospects. If a few of these young prospects figure things out and prove themselves at higher levels nothing will hold them back from high society. A number of players got a look at No. 10, including Jordan Walden, Trevor Reckling, Chevez Clarke, Randal Grichuk, and Daniel Tillman, but the raw power arm of Bedrosian fits the farm system's philosophy and is too much to ignore.

Los Angeles Angels: Top 10 Players Under Age 26 (as of 4/1/11)

1. Mike Trout / OF
2. Hank Conger / C
3. Garrett Richards / SP
4. Jean Segura / 2B/SS
5. Peter Bourjos / OF
6. Kaleb Cowart / 3B
7. Fabio Martinez / SP
8. Tyler Chatwood / SP/RP
9. Alexi Amarista / 2B
10. Mark Trumbo / 1B/OF


Oakland Athletics: Top 10 Prospects

1. Michael Choice / OF / Choice was the best four-year college hitter in the 2010 draft. He has superstar power potential in his bat, but also the tools to excel as an overall hitter. On top of his bat, he has usable speed and the ability to be a good defender from a corner outfield position.
2. Grant Green / SS / Green had some ups and downs in his debut season. His power and batting average stand out from the crowd, but his strikeout and walk rates will not cut it, and his defense has come into question, although, defensively, he should turn into an average major league shortstop.
3. Chris Carter / 1B/OF / It has become clear that strikeouts will always be a problem for Carter. Couple that fact with his all-or-nothing swing, and you are looking at some ugly batting averages, too. But his power is real and will provide Oakland with a much-needed long ball boost.
4. Jemile Weeks / 2B / Weeks has a rare skill set for a second baseman, and has even demonstrated the intangibles at the plate to be a patient, well-rounded hitter, but injuries are taking over his young career.
5. Ian Krol / SP / Despite his youth, Krol doesn't have a lot of upside due to his small frame and below-average fastball. What he does have is great command and deceptive movement on an average three-pitch mix.
6. Corey Brown / OF / Brown has a nice blend of power and speed. He is a solid defender, and his walk rate seems to get better each year, too. But his strikeout rate is worrisome, and he looked lost at times against Triple-A pitching last year.
7. Max Stassi / C / Stassi is a solid defender, no question, but probably not the difference maker some were hoping for when he was drafted. On the flip side, the power potential those same people were also hoping for has surfaced, giving his offense a glimmer of light that wasn't apparent when he was drafted.
8. Josh Donaldson / C / Donaldson knows how to take walks and has plenty of power, but whether or not he has what it takes elsewhere to stick at catcher remains to be seen.
9. Adrian Cardenas / 2B / Cardenas manages to hit for a good average wherever he goes. He limits his strikeouts and takes his share of walks. But the power numbers everyone was hoping for are nowhere to be found, and his stolen base rate and success percentage have dissipated.
10. Michael Taylor / OF / What happened to Taylor? Two things are clear; he loses his swing at times, and his pitch recognition is poor. His swing looks long and slow sometimes, which has sapped his power. Don't forget about him, though. He will have opportunities to turn it around.

Oakland Athletics: Top 10 Players Under Age 26 (as of 4/1/11)

1. Brett Anderson / SP
2. Trevor Cahill / SP
3. Michael Choice / OF
4. Gio Gonzalez / SP
5. Grant Green / SS
6. Chris Carter / 1B/OF
7. Jemile Weeks / 2B
8. Daric Barton / 1B
9. Ian Krol / SP
10. Corey Brown / OF

This is more of an intellectual exercise than anything else, but I was thinking about today the possibility that if the Bulls signed Dwyane Wade and if it was shown clearly that he and Rose couldn't co-exist, who the Bulls might possibly think about trading him for.  Two big ifs, of course, but for the sake of discussion, let's say it happens.

Is there anyone you would trade Rose for straight up given that scenario?  Since I'm talking about only 1 for 1 trades, they'd have to either be on rookie deals or a real bargain veteran.  Would you consider trading him for someone like Stephen Curry to get a shooter next to Wade?  Someone like Kevin Love to get a post scorer to upgrade Gibson?  Blake Griffin?

I wouldn't do any of those deals straight up because Rose has more value than all of them at this point in his career.  And while I would do it for Durant, he has more value than Rose.  Anyway, I just wanted to hear some ideas about who possibly would match up for a fair trade in that scenario.

Check out these numbers, if you will, from the Suns' first 38 games compared to their most recent 39. As you'll see, 38 games into the season there was no doubt about the focal point of Phoenix's attack. Nash led the team in minutes and usage rate, and by a wide margin in player efficiency rating.

NASH AND STOUDEMIRE, 2009-10

	Minutes	Usage Rate	PER
First 38 games
Nash	1,320	25.66	24.53
Stoudemire	1,281	24.51	20.52
Last 39 games
Nash	1,128	19.67	18.37
Stoudemire	1,376	23.88	24.25

Since then, however, two things have happened. First, Nash's balky back has turned on him a bit. Second, Amare Stoudemire has become much more comfortable after playing his way back into shape in the first half of the season (he couldn't train over the summer while he recovered from a detached retina).

As that has happened, Phoenix has shifted from a Nash offense to an Amare offense. Over the past 39 games, Stoudemire -- not Nash -- is the Suns' leader in minutes, usage rate and PER. He's passed Nash on the PER charts despite being miles behind at midseason, and has a chance to pass him in usage rate, too.

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1.Jesus Montero

2.Brett Wallace

3.Logan Morrison

4.Jenrry Mejia

5.Zach Britton

6.Ryan Westmoreland

7.Zach Stewart

8.Daryl Jones

9.Mitch Canham

10.Andrew Carignan

11.Jason Christian

12.James Darnell

13.Ivan DeJesus, Jr.

14.Rob Delaney

15.Brett DeVall

16.David Francis

17.JJ Hoover

18.Brett Hunter

19.Jake Jefferies

20.Craig Kimbrel

21.Jake Odorizzi

22.Wynn Pelzer

23.Cord Phelps

24.Bryan Shaw

25.Will Smith

I'm allowed to keep all 25 if I want, but then I don't make any picks in the amateur draft. I have the 22nd pick of 24 teams in the draft and I can as many picks as necessary to fill the 25 spots, so if I cut 5 people, I'll have 5 picks. I've bolded the guys I'm pretty definite about keeping. Anyone in here who is an obvious cut? Anyone iffy? Let me know, thanks for the help.

Was having trouble sleeping last night and came up with this in my head:

Chicago trades:

Kirk Hinrich

Joakim Noah

Cap Filler (Roberson, Nelson, Johnson)

Milwaukee trades:

Andrew Bogut

Luke Ridnour

2009 First Round Pick (#10)

Proof it Works

Why the Bucks Do It:

Skiles gets reunited with his erstwhile protege, someone who can step and start for the Bucks right away without having to be taught how to run Skiles offense and play D, like the rookie point guards they have been eying.

Noah is the defensive minded center that Skiles would love and who would fit nicely alongside Villanueva if they decide to resign him.

Why the Bulls Do It:

We would lose Noah, a great young defensive center, but gain  Bogut, an offensive threat in the front court we dearly need, somewhat like a young Brad Miller, who could work well paired with Thomas.

We would get rid of Hinrich and replace him with Ridnour, a lesser player across the board but one who's salary is up in 2010, which, with a little wrangling and depending on what happens with Gordon, could still have room to sign a big 2010 FA.  If we targeted Amare or Bosh we would still have Thomas to dangle in a sign and trade.

We would gain a third pick in the draft which would give us lots of trade possibilities to move up and take possible Gordon replacements (Harden, Evans)

What say you?

[Woo-hoo! Original fanpost after the jump. The article actually says 'in excess' of $70m. Hopefully some more details will be available by Wednesday. If you couldn't tell after the many discussions here over the past few weeks, I'm just happy it's done, and the offseason is now underway. -ed.]

According to ESPN, Deng is close to signing a 70 million dollar deal over 6 years.

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I'm not sure if I've brought it up here, but I've been thinking since we got Rose that we should keep Hinrich and play him as shooting guard and someone who can share ball handling duties to give Rose breaks.  Apparently John Hollinger agrees:

Scooter (Chicago): Please tell me the Bulls will work out a sign and trade with Ben Gordon? If not, what is the Bulls next move?

 John Hollinger: (3:18 PM ET ) Sign-and-trade of Gordon, with Hinrich moving tot he 2, is unquestionably the most logical move for Chicago. They just need to find the right team for him, which is the hard part -- he doesn't fit easily for a lot of teams.

Hinrich has shown he can guard two guards and might do so better when he doesn't have to expend energy bringing the ball up.  Also if Rose is the distributor everyone thinks he is, I've always thought he could thrive as mostly a spot up shooter on offense.  I'd still prefer someone who can create a double team to get him open looks but why not see how this works, unless a great trade offer comes along?

I still don't think Gordon should be our starting shooting guard long term, especially if he wants 10 million a year still.  Does anyone think Gordon is as valuable as Antawn Jamison?  If we can get someone to take him in a sign and trade for something valuable (David Lee, perhaps?) then do so, otherwise I expect he'll sign the one year qualifying offer and he can be our sixth man and maybe if he succeeds we can get something for him around the trading deadline.

The Rebuilding of the Bulls is one of John Hollinger's 10 stories to watch for the rest of the season.  Here's what he said:

here

Speaking of GMs under fire, John Paxson of the Bulls is taking some serious heat for failing to pull the trigger on a big deal a year ago and then making a deadline-deal this month for Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden.

For the moment that trade has left the Bulls with a weird roster. They have five guards, two small forwards and not enough big guys. And the three bigs they do have (Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden) are all athletic-roamer types who need an enforcer beside them to be most effective.

So in a weird way, this is a crucial two months for Paxson. It goes without saying that he can't be finished trading, so this summer is likely to be huge for him -- especially considering that both Ben Gordon and Luol Deng are restricted free agents and Chris Duhon is unrestricted.

In the mean time, he has to figure out which of his five guards, two small forwards and three power forwards to keep, and which ones to trade away.

At least Paxson can enjoy his new players' strong start. In the admittedly small three-game sample since the deal, Hughes looks a lot more like the vintage guard of the Washington years, averaging 18.7 points and getting five foul shots a game. One wonders how long they'll keep Thabo Sefolosha in the starting lineup when Hughes is clearly outplaying him.

In fact, a Hughes-Gordon pairing might be Chicago's best option going forward. Hughes can be the de facto point man while defending the opposing shooting guard, sparing Gordon the worst of the matchups. Sefolosha could then come off the pine at both spots.

Of course, the elephant in this discussion is Kirk Hinrich, whose struggles have been a key reason behind the Bulls' fade this season. He was yanked just 36 seconds into the third quarter Wednesday night and didn't return, but trading his contract will be very difficult unless he plays better. Nonetheless, including him and one of the young bigs (most likely Thomas) in a swap for a stronger, veteran presence in the paint might be Chicago's most logical path to improvement.

Looking ahead, Bulls fans can still be optimistic about such an arrangement. A Hughes-Gordon-Sefolosha backcourt can get things done. Deng still has plenty of upside at the 3, and bringing Andres Nocioni off the pine as a scoring force at both forward spots is a weapon few other teams can match. Then you have a frontcourt of Noah and the mystery guy in the trade, plus the still-young and reasonably productive Gooden as the spare big.

All this, of course, is subject to what happens over the next two months, which is why I'll be watching Chicago so closely. The Bulls' season has been a disaster, but they still have a young roster with a lot of nice pieces, and if Paxson makes the right deals, he might be able to salvage this group."